How to format time string in VB.NET to AM/PM?

Question

I am trying to format a date string. My function currently generates "16:00". I want it to generate "4:00 PM". Here is my code:

Dim eventTime As String
eventTime = Trim(odbcReader("StartTime").ToString)

I tried this:

eventTime = Trim(odbcReader("StartTime").ToString("hh:mm tt"))

But it returns nothing. How do I get the date string to format properly?

Answer 1

You can't format a String as a String . If you want to format a time then you have to start with a time, ie a TimeSpan value or a DateTime value. You need to convert your existing String to one of those types, then convert that to a String in the desired format.

As you want a time of day, you need to create a DateTime . A TimeSpan just represents a period of time without reference to a start or end point, so it can't be directly formatted the way you want. You would need something like this:

Dim s1 = "16:00"
Dim t = DateTime.Parse(s1)
Dim s2 = t.ToString("h:mm tt")

Note that the format specifier is "h:mm tt", "hh:mm tt". You specifically said that you expect a result without a leading zero so you wouldn't provide a format specifier that would create a leading zero.